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Why and How to Cut Down on Sugar + Benefits

By Klaus Crow 4 Comments

Today sugar has become the new health villain, and with good reasons. Sugar has made its way into almost everything we eat, and there are more than enough health problems (and scientific evidence) to go around to seriously consider cutting down on sugar.

One of the main concerns and well-known reasons is that too much sugar will lead to gain weight, which can cause obesity, and raise cancer risk.

The high-sugar foods and drinks increase inflammation in your body and may cause insulin resistance, which means big trouble. Yes, “insulin resistance”. So what does that awkward term mean?

To gain some valuable insight here, let’s first explain what glucose, insuline and finally insuline resistance are, so you know what kind of things are happening inside your body.

INSIDE THE BODY
“Glucose” is a type of sugar that comes from the foods you eat, and it’s the main source of energy that your body uses. As it travels through the bloodstream to all your cells, we call it blood glucose (blood sugar).

“Insulin” is a hormone produced and released by the pancreas and tells the cell doors to open up to let the glucose in, so it moves glucose from your blood into your muscle, fat, and liver cells, where it’s then used for energy and storage. The insulin makes sure your blood sugar levels remain steady.

“Insulin resistance”, is when your body becomes insensitive to the effects of insulin, which means the cell doors won’t open, and the glucose will have trouble getting into the cell. 

This forces the pancreas to work overtime to produce more insulin, because the body’s cells are “resistant” to the effects of insulin.

Even with the extra production of insuline, the cell doors still won’t open and don’t let enough of the glucose into the cells. The problem is, the extra glucose stays in the bloodstream, causing high blood glucose levels, and high blood glucose for a long period of time can damage your heart, kidneys, eyes, brain and other organs.

The use of too much sugar, refined sugar, products with hidden added sugars along with refined carbs (white flour, white bread, white rice, cereals and pastas), allow the surges in your blood sugar levels to build up “visceral fat storage”.

This is the body fat that is stored within the abdominal cavity, that is being wrapped around vital internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines, which is another high risk factor.

CHALLENGES & BENEFITS
For me personally it’s all about energy balance. Foods and drinks that are high in sugar but seem healthy (fruit smoothies, granola, iced tea, sport drinks and protein bars) and especially refined sugars in sweets, cookies, and bars lead to a quick temporary sugar high followed by a steep crash that will soon drain your overal energy level.

I want to avoid that and keep my energy levels at a constant level as much as possible, so I keep my productive and blissful spirit alive throughout the entire day.Continue Reading

How To Stay Calm No Matter What

By Klaus Crow 9 Comments

Most people lose their calm every once in a while. Emotions can be powerful and overwhelming. The great thing is that you can actually learn to control them and feel lighter and happier throughout the day, and throughout your life.

Here are 14 keys how to stay calm when you’re angry, annoyed or nervous, how to stay calm under pressure or in stressful situations, or just when things seem to fall apart and you’re on the edge of a breakdown. In other words, How to Stay Calm No Matter What.

Let’s take a look.

Take 8 Deep and Slow Breaths

Focus entirely on your breathing while you slowly breath in and out. Behold the transformation.

Take a Step Back

Take a moment to observe the situation as if you were looking from a distant. Don’t be the person or victim that’s caught up in the middle of the situation but look at it from a bystander’s perspective and see how your frame of reference will change.

Slow down, Pause and Delay your Response

Force yourself to not react or respond immediately. If possible wait one or two minutes or at the least 10 to 20 seconds. Watch your initial response fade away and realize it’s ill-advised, then think, contemplate with calmness, keep an open mind, and see how smart and effective your response after the pause will be. 

Get out!

Get out of the house, the car, the building, wherever you are. Get outside. Your mind works differently in outside environments. Fresh air and nature has a profound impact on your system and makes you feel calmer and see things clearer almost immediately. 

Repeat a Mantra

Repeat a peaceful mantra to yourself. Say quietly to yourself “I am calm, focused and at ease in every situation.” Visualize yourself being calm. Be kind to yourself.

Focus

Focus and act on things you can control, and stop focusing and worrying about things you can’t control.

Continue Reading

Top 8 Best Apps to Relax, Focus and Recharge

By Klaus Crow 3 Comments

When I feel stressed out, grumpy or lack energy I do one of two things, either I do some exercise in the form of running or jumprope, or I listen to a guided meditation on one of my apps. I immediately feel a totally different person afterwards.

Today there are many great apps offering (guided) meditations, mindfulness, and other ways to de-stress. Guided meditations allow you to just relax and listen to the gentle voices that will help you destress your mind and body, and empower you for the rest of the day.

There are also apps with mesmeric sounds that are great for coming into a calm and unwinding state. According to a new study, sounds can physically alter the connections in our brains, reducing our body’s natural fight-or-flight instinct. You can listen to these sounds while you’re doing a task, but the effects are most effective when you take a moment to sit or lie down and surrender to their healing vibrations. Try for yourself and experience.

Also mindfulness sessions are often added to apps to make you aware of your mind, body and actions throughout the day so you’ll stay centred, appreciative, receptive, focused and wiser while you’re dealing with the issues of daily life.

Most apps have a combination of these techniques so you can choose the ones you like most.

At this moment I’m using insight timer (for meditation and guided mediation), relax melodies (to unwind) and Sadhguru (to gain some words of wisdom), but the other apps are also definitely worth checking out. It all depends on your state of being, and what you need most in your life.

Continue Reading

What Do You Do, When You Don’t Want to Do it?

By Klaus Crow 4 Comments

What-do-you-do,-when-you-don't-want-to-do-itLike most people I have trouble making myself do things I don’t want to do. Sounds reasonable right?

The problem is that most of the things you often don’t want to do are the things that should be on top of your priority list. Exercise, maintaining a healthy diet (stop eating unhealthy foods), meditation (cultivating the mind), and working on your most important projects are all crucial to your overall happiness and quality of life.

When you start out with exercising or eating healthy you’re all fired up and everything is great and good for you, but after a while you start to lose the thrill and excitement you first had in the beginning.

The inspiring and motivating thoughts you had are now fading away. Things get hard, and most people start to procrastinate and often quit very soon after that.

Most of the reasons of procrastination and quitting is that you often don’t “feel” like doing it. It can be hard, unpleasant, tiring, or an underlying reason might be that you’re afraid to fail. Fail to accomplish the end result you have in mind.Continue Reading

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enjoy

  • How to Live Life Without a Watch
  • The Power of Keeping an Open Mind
  • What it Means to be Truly Alive
  • 15 Great Ways to Wake Up Early and How it Will Enrich Your Life.
  • How To Stay Calm No Matter What

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